Maine lawmaker seeking to ban "obscene" books from schools

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A Maine lawmaker who says she was upset by the contents of a Haruki Murakami novel being read by her teenage son is now trying to ban "obscene" books from the state's public schools.

New Gloucester Rep. Amy Arata, a Republican elected in 2018, has introduced a bill that would revise a state law governing the dissemination of obscene materials to minors. The Sun Journal reports the law would remove the exception that allows public schools to use obscene material for educational purposes.

Arata says adults should have access to books like Murakami's "Kafka on the Shore," which contains some sexual and violent content, but that such books are not appropriate for public school students.